SUZUME NO GAKKOU YOUTH CAMP

Suzume no Gakkou is a summer camp for local youngsters sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Citizens League. This program will offer kids who are entering the second grade through the sixth grade a week of fun and friendship with hands on and minds on activities that will share Japanese and Japanese American experiences Suzume no Gakkou is a cherished Japanese song about little sparrows who go to school. We will start each day with a group exercise that will sharpen your mind and body for exiting Japanese heritage lessons through arts and crafts, music, and sports. Our daily summer story time will teach youngsters about the Japanese culture, the Internment Camp, and poetry through books like The Bracelet, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, Wabi Sabi, and How Baseball Saved Us. Kids will learn useful Japanese phrases and words, create and express themselves through block printing, daruma, music, ceramics, origami, games, and more. Grandparents are welcome to help the children along with their parents! Our theme for 2015 is MOTTTAINAI and will focus on an environmental friendlyprogram to recycle, to reduce, and to reuse (Japanese style).The SFVJACL started Suzume no Gakkou more than 20 years ago and are ready for a new generation who thirsts for knowledge and exploration about their ancestry.

Please check back in 2016 for more information about our next summer camp!

Check out the video below of longtime cultural worker and activist Nobuko Miyamoto teaching the SnG kids an odori dance.